This review is the result of years of sporadic trying to get something from this show. I tried honestly to find something in it, be it funny or warming. Sure, from time to time, a line jumps that would be funny perhaps in another context. But the wannabe soft parts are mushy, the quiproquos would have been easily avoidable through simple clarification, and the immature, childish behavior of all the characters destroys even the rare glimpses of fun, because everything is not life-like at all.
The main characters are not relatable. They are in their late 20s but they act like teens, and they are so sketchy: the spoiled, independent girl, the quirky girl, the competitive girl, the oh-so-funny guy, the shallow stud, and the dorky unrequited lover. Many people appear to like them and the show, maybe as a result of heavy promotion and of the viewers' own shallowness. But even as an escapist show, it doesn't work because it's almost annoyingly unreal.
Others noted its leaning towards dumbing down, because the only character with higher education (Ross) is constantly mocked for it and appears as boring and awkward. To me, paradoxically perhaps, the only almost likeable main characters are sometimes Phoebe and Joey, for their sporadic, down to earth common sense.
The main characters are not relatable. They are in their late 20s but they act like teens, and they are so sketchy: the spoiled, independent girl, the quirky girl, the competitive girl, the oh-so-funny guy, the shallow stud, and the dorky unrequited lover. Many people appear to like them and the show, maybe as a result of heavy promotion and of the viewers' own shallowness. But even as an escapist show, it doesn't work because it's almost annoyingly unreal.
Others noted its leaning towards dumbing down, because the only character with higher education (Ross) is constantly mocked for it and appears as boring and awkward. To me, paradoxically perhaps, the only almost likeable main characters are sometimes Phoebe and Joey, for their sporadic, down to earth common sense.